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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 7744070, member: 110350&quot;]I have two coins showing the famous twins, one without and one with the stars above their heads:</p><p><br /></p><p>Faustina II [Junior] (wife of Marcus Aurelius &amp; daughter of Antoninus Pius), AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 161 AD. Obv. Draped bust right, hair in chignon behind, wearing stephane, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / Rev. Two infant boys seated on draped throne (pulvinar), each raising an arm towards the other, with hands touching [<i>compass dot between them</i>], SAECVLI FELICIT. RIC III [Marcus Aurelius] 712, RSC II 191 [<i>variety without stars above boys’ heads</i>], Sear RCV II 5260 (ill.), BMCRE 139, Dinsdale 005600(a) [Dinsdale, Paul H., <i>The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus</i>, Ch. 4, <i>Faustina II - Undated, 158-176</i>&nbsp; (<a href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04%20-%20Faustina%20II%20-%20Undated,%20158-176%20%28med_res%29.pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04%20-%20Faustina%20II%20-%20Undated,%20158-176%20%28med_res%29.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04 - Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (med_res).pdf</a>) at p. 57; photo at p. 62]. 17.5 mm., 3.39 g., 12h. [<i>The two infant boys are Faustina II’s twin sons b. 31 Aug 161 AD: Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (the older twin, d. 165 AD) and Commodus, the ninth and tenth children of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina II.</i>]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1325825[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Faustina II (wife of Marcus Aurelius &amp; daughter of Antoninus Pius), AE Sestertius, ca. 161 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust right, low chignon at back of head, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / Rev. Felicitas (or Faustina as Fecunditas) standing left, between four girls (two standing at each side), holding two infants in her arms, each with a star over its head (representing the Dioscuri), TEMPOR FELIC [-IC almost entirely worn off], S - C across fields. RIC III 1673 (at p. 147), <i>var</i>. [no stars above infants’ heads]; BMCRE MA 949 <i>var </i>[same]; Cohen 222; Dinsdale 006760 &amp; n. 1 [Dinsdale, Paul H., <i>The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus</i>, Ch. 4, <i>Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 </i>(<a href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04%20-%20Faustina%20II%20-%20Undated,%20158-176%20%28med_res%29.pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04%20-%20Faustina%20II%20-%20Undated,%20158-176%20%28med_res%29.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04 - Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (med_res).pdf</a>) at p. 70] (“Minor rev. variation: sometimes each infant held in arms has star above head”). 31 mm., 24 gm. <i>Purchased from Victor’s Imperial Coins, March 2021. Ex. CNG E-Auction 476, 9/09/2020, part of Lot 762; ex. BLS Collection.</i>*</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;[ATTACH=full]1325824[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*This variation of RIC III 1673 (with stars above the two infants’ heads) is unlisted in RIC or BMCRE, and appears to be mentioned only in the footnote to Dinsdale 006760. (RIC III 1677 does have stars above the infants’ heads, but is an as, not a sestertius.)&nbsp; Of the 14 other examples found on acsearch of RIC 1673 and 1674 (the same design as 1673 but with a diadem on Faustina’s head; see Sear RCV II 5284), only one other example (of RIC 1673) has the stars above the infants’ heads. See <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=6215913" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=6215913" rel="nofollow">https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=6215913</a> (Numismatik Naumann, Auction 80, Lot 568, 4 Aug 2019).</p><p><br /></p><p>The four girls standing on either side of Felicitas on the reverse of this type have been identified as Marcus Aurelius’s and Faustina II’s daughters Annia Faustina (a/k/a Faustina III), Lucilla, Fadilla, and Cornificia -- the last of whom was born in 160 AD. The two infants held in her arms have been identified as Faustina II’s twin sons b. 31 Aug 161 AD: Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (the older twin, d. 165 AD) and Commodus, the ninth and tenth children of the royal couple. See Foss, <i>Roman Historical Coins.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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